[Blindtlk] The Cost of Independent Travel

Fri Sep 3 14:14:37 UTC 2010

Hello Diane. I agree with what you are saying and believe we should do
everything we can to encourage blind students to be good students. At least
in my own case, I don't know what those words would have been or who
could've spoken them. My father told me I should do well in school. He also
told me I should learn to play the guitar because that is the one profession
in which he saw blind people excel. He was a role model for me in terms of
work, and I wanted to be just like him. Still, I don't think he much changed
how seriously I took my classes or how frequently I did my homework. Maybe
the tragedy for young people is that they make decisions which have
tremendous consequences later on and have no idea what they are opting out
of by taking the easy road. Since I can't think of the magic words someone
could've uttered to change me, I'm afraid I don't have much faith in our
being able to come up with the magic words to change others. Since I have a
daughter who is a sophomore and a grandson who is in third grade, I'm all
ears when it comes to listening for what those magic words might be. I will
shamelessly credit them as my own wisdom and try them if it seems to me they
might work.

Gary

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Graves, Diane
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 11:35 AM
To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] The Cost of Independent Travel

Hi Mike and Gary,

With regard to employment, One of the things I would stress very heavily if
I were speaking to a group of blind high school students today is get that
education! As we know, that doesn't provide a guarantee by any means, but it
certainly gives us a much better shot.

When I was in high school, I didn't particularly like school, and had no
desire to go on to college. So, I made a very very bad choice and did not
go. I had a short stint at a local business college, but I didn't apply
myself, I didn't have the necessary maturity  and it didn't go well.

What I have learned over the years though is a truth that is becoming more
and more evident every day. You just aren't going to get anywhere without
that higher education. That is true for the sighted as well as the blind,
but it is absolutely true for the blind. I finally graduated from the
clerical arena into the professional arena due to a supervisor who believed
in and fought for me, but it was just a matter of being in the right place
at the right time, and took about 16 years at this job to get there.

It isn't fair, but the fact is, that we are always going to have to work
harder and pay more for equality than do the sighted. Having learned that, I
am now juggling a job and an educational effort, and it is much, much harder
than it would have been had I gone fresh out of high school and been able to
concentrate all of my time and effort on that education.

This is so important, because, especially with the clerical field rapidly
moving towards extinction,  without that higher education, a blind person
almost doesn't have a prayer.

So, teachers, parents, hog tie them, kidnap them, do whatever you have to
do, but get those young people too and through college. It will make such a
difference in their lives. 

Diane Graves
Civil Rights Specialist
Indiana Civil Rights Commission
Alternative Dispute Resolutions Unit
317-232-2647

"It is service that measures success."
George Washington Carver

Confidentiality Notice: This E-mail transmission may contain confidential
and/or legally privileged information intended only for the individual or
entity(ies) named in the E-mail address. If you are not the intended
recipient, be advised that any unauthorized disclosure, copying,
distribution, or acting in reliance upon the contents of this E-mail is
strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail transmission in error,
please reply to sender to arrange for the return and proper delivery of the
transmission. Subsequently, delete the message from your system immediately.

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mike Freeman
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 12:02 PM
To: gwunder at earthlink.net; Blind Talk Mailing List
Cc: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] The Cost of Independent Travel

Gary:

Great post! I agree completely. Thank you for telling it like it is!

Mike Freeman
Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 30, 2010, at 4:57, "Gary Wunder" <gwunder at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Hi Mike.  I like your post and agree with most of it.  If we target 
> the unemployment and underemployment of the blind, where should we put 
> resources? Eliminating the earnings cliff is a good start.  Nobody 
> should be expected to act against their own economic self-interest.  
> Ssdi discourages work through an earnings limit used to determine all or
nothing benefits.
> Work which pays anywhere near the limit and is the least bit variable 
> opens one to the charge of overpayments, sometimes long after the event.
> Beneficiaries are frequently without records and sometimes cannot get
them.
> So our bills and resolutions to change the system are certainly 
> relevant in changing the situation for some who do not find it in 
> their interest to work.
> 
> I agree that HR 4533 will go a long way toward seeing we can use the 
> gadgets society requires for work and living independently.  Not only 
> are we working on legislation, but trying to cultivate important 
> relationships in industries that matter.  This means sending our 
> people to conferences of engineers, manufacturers, and resellers.  The 
> message is, "We have a market out here which your product isn't 
> serving," and the question which frequently comes back is "How much of a
market are we talking about?"
> Sometimes we convince people who can make a difference that our market 
> segment matters, or that there is an opportunity for some good publicity.
> Occasionally we are successful in convincing important people that 
> there is a moral imperative to include us.  It's hard to measure moral 
> imperative on a balance sheet.  Lastly we have the lawsuit which is 
> very expensive and which presumes there is really law on which to rely.
> 
> I think there is another, perhaps more difficult, question to address 
> the issue of employment and it is the same one at which you hint.  Who 
> are the unemployed blind and how interested are they in employment? 
> What stands between them and employment besides the discrimination and 
> work disincentives we normally mention? When I get a note saying IBM 
> wants people, I don't have the people to recommend.  When the IRS says 
> they want people, I don't have names of folks who tell me they are 
> willing to go anywhere they need to go to get a job.  The fact I don't 
> know people who are actively looking for jobs doesn't mean they aren't 
> out there, but I certainly do know a lot of people who seem very
comfortable where they are.
> The very few people I know who say they are looking for jobs are 
> people I probably wouldn't hire because of their inflexibility, social 
> ineptitude, and the way they present themselves to the public.
> 

_______________________________________________
blindtlk mailing list
blindtlk at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
blindtlk:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/dgraves%40icrc.in.
gov

_______________________________________________
blindtlk mailing list
blindtlk at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindtlk_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
blindtlk:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindtlk_nfbnet.org/gwunder%40earthlin
k.net